Hi all
Heading to Bali in July and was just wondering what is the better option for spending / withdrawing while there. I have a Wise account with physical card and a personal account with Macquarie.
I think both are reasonable when it comes to fees, but is one typically better or more convenient than the other.
Haven't been overseas in a while so wanted to see what people's thoughts are.
Cheers
Of bring both and use Macquarie first.
Cash for spending
For tap payments, either is fine. Most stores in Indonesia accept this payment method.
For cash withdrawals however, MacQ. Wise has restrictive limits.
No fees > fees
I found the exchange rate Wise used was better than any of the official money changers (banks etc) by quite a margin.
You may not need much cash, but I think wise charges after a certain amount each month so double check that.
I personally use "Up" bank when I travel. I travel allot around asia. Macquarie is my backup.
https://www.bendigobank.com.au/personal/credit-cards/ready/ or similar as a primary for spending.
So if your card is defrauded it's not your money at risk :D
Both. You also never know if your card may get blocked and/or lost/stolen/etc.
I use both when I travel to Indonesia. I appreciate being able to generate virtual cards in the Wise app for use in the local apps eg Grab/Gojek/etc. Also being able to do the shared spend in the Wise app with my wife is very convenient.
If I ever needed to withdraw physical cash using a card, the rate won't make that huge a difference on <A$500, so I just use Macquarie as there's no arbitrary ATM limit. That being said I didn't need cash much when I was in Bali other than for the occasional tip or the laundromat.
I noticed grab charges an international payment fee now for foreign cards. Is small, but annoyed me none the less
Both, l live os 9 mths a year and lose a cc or debit card every 6 months to a dodgy transaction. Macq was last one. Wise is simple, lock/freeze your debit card and digital card, and only unlock when you use via app. Debit card l only use at atm's generally and link my digital card to google pay. Important, Oz banks will still let numerous transactions through even if you have your card locked, and if a fraudulent transactions they cancel your card, so card dead until you get back to Oz. Wise when card is frozen it will advise you to unlock if transaction appears, generally on my digital card. I've had a few and super simple, don't unfreeze card, just scroll down and hit issue new digital card, done in seconds. So l only ever use my Wise digital card linked to google pay.
I thought the point of using any credit or debit card via Apple Pay/Google pay is that it uses a specially generated card number which can’t be defrauded as it’s not the real number and unique to the phone only
Yes they use a digital card no. for Google pay, but as it is linked to your hard card they will always cancel your hard card " for your added security' they all reply to me. I say what is the point of digital card, but no answer other than we will send new card to your Australian address, which is useless when you're on a trip for months.
Bizarre haha
Maybe a stupid question but in order to freeze or unfreeze your card in the app, presumably you would have to have some form of data connectivity to do so?
I'm just wondering how that works exactly, and whether I would need to pick up a data sim as well.
If the bank freezes your account, card, etc. Then have cash as a backup. Because getting them to unlock your account remotely is disappointing and frustrating until they unlock the account. Who knows how long it will take as it depend on case to case.
If the bank freezes your account, card, etc
You have backup banks (and accounts/cards).
Also incredibly frustrating when an ATM eats your card and you're forced to cancel it as well, which can sometimes break Apple Pay/etc too.
yep, get a data sim. Thankfully they're everywhere and pretty easy to buy cheap esims before travelling (Eg travelkon).
Thanks for the replies from everyone.
So is the consensus from most, that you would just use the relevant card when paying for things at supermarkets / restaurants etc.
It used to be cash was (once) king……..I suppose if some banks aren't charging a fee for every transaction, why would you bother carrying cash.
Is there any benefit in Macquarie or Wise, over a credit card that also has no international transaction fees (Bankwest for example).
Also, for Wise, am I correct in thinking that I would deposit an amount into my account in rupiah and then whenever I spend whilst overseas, it comes out in that currency? If it all gets used, I could then make a further deposit of rupiah from my Oz account.
And whatever may be left in rupiah when I return, that can then be converted back to aud (for a small charge according to Wise).
You deposit any currency into your Wise account, and then if you want to, you can convert it to IDR in advance (or leave it in whatever currency) and hold it in your multi currency account. Then when you spend overseas, it'll take the IDR first, but then take the cheapest other currency (eg if you left balance in AUD).
Thanks for the info on this and the data sim.
Whichever card you use, carry a 2nd one for backup.
Have taken both on previous trip. Will again take both next trip.
100% no need for Wise.
Lots of Australian bank options offering fee-free international usage.